


The Chaperone

by somethingvaguetodo



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, honestly slightly crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 00:37:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21311251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingvaguetodo/pseuds/somethingvaguetodo
Summary: Adrien and Marinette attend a party - more like a school sanctioned event - together. Surely no adults or akumas will ruin their night!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 44
Kudos: 126





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I have approximately five different WIPs at this point, some based off the ANGST I feel with the ending of this season, but mostly lovesquare fluff because that's about all I can handle in my life. This is a silly little thing I've been working on since April (I'm honestly ashamed) and has taken many forms since then. It was originally all Nathalie's POV, but now it has a little bit of everyone's POV. 
> 
> It is supposed to be episode style with an akuma of the day. Somewhat follows canon, somewhat follows my version of canon, slightly OOC, hopefully fun to read.

“We’ve come to warn you, Adrien.” 

Adrien jumped, dropping his history textbook and bumping his head into the door of his locker. He turned, rubbing the sore spot on his head, to see Alya and Nino sharing a laugh.

“Never do that to me again.”

Alya shrugged. “You don’t want us to warn you against your impending doom? Fine, c’mon, Nino.” She started pulling him away by his sleeve, but he yanked her back.

“This was your idea, you have to see it through.”

Adrien turned away from them and picked up his history book. “Are you two done with the theatrics yet? I’d like to know if I’m dying before class.”

“Not before class, but possibly before the end of the day.”

Adrien turned back and gave them his full attention. Nino shrugged one shoulder, and Alya gave one more dramatic pause before stating, “PEPA.”

Adrien laughed. “I’m going to die because of PEPA?”

“No,” Alya countered. “You are going to die because of the PEPA party.”

Adrien returned to loading books in his satchel. “I thought that wasn’t until next week. Besides, I doubt Père will even let me go.”

“Irrelevant details,” Alya waved him away. “Tickets go on sale at lunch today, which means the girls will be on the warpath.”

“How d’you figure?”

Alya’s smile was predatory. Nino looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Word around the girls locker room is that this is the type of party you go with a date to.” She leaned in to him. “Just how many girls in this school do you think want to go on the arm of Adrien Agreste?”

Adrien looked at Nino. “I’m doomed.”

Nino didn’t hold back the laughter anymore. “Sorry, my man. Lots of people would love to be in your position, though.”

Adrien looked around at the locker room. There were a lot of girls still around, some he knew and some he didn’t, but none of them had approached him yet. Suddenly he felt like they were all watching him, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

“What should I do?” he whispered. 

Alya smiled at him. “My suggestion? Get a date as soon as possible, that way you don’t have to worry about letting everyone else down easy. Think about going with someone you will actually enjoy spending time with instead of one of the faceless masses.”

Adrien stood quietly for a moment, his mind whirring. He needed to figure out a way to get out of this unscathed and with permission from his father. A plan was falling into place. 

Alya was still talking. “…Lila who clued me into it. She would probably be willing to go with you as a favor.”

Adrien tried to hide his horror, but wasn’t sure he did a good job. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll see you in class.”

He slammed his locker shut and hurried away, ducking into a boy’s bathroom where he would (hopefully) be safe. The bathroom was empty. Plagg flew out of his bag. 

“Are we hiding from the girls?” he asked. 

“Yes, Plagg,” Adrien admitted, bracing his hands on the sink and looking in the mirror. “But I also need to think. I need a date, and a way to convince Père to let me go.”

Plagg floated up next to him. “So go with Lila,” he said, sarcastic. “You father seems to approve of her.”

Adrien huffed out a laugh. “I’d rather stay home.” He waved his hand under the faucet, moving it away quickly to avoid the water that rushed out. “But someone he approves of…”

“Is it going to be Kagami again?” Plagg groaned. For some reason, his kwami liked to complain about Kagami, something about cheese and bread that Adrien didn’t understand. 

“No, she doesn’t really like parties. Remember the royal wedding?” They shuddered in unison. “No, I think I have the perfect plan. C’mon!” 

He held his over shirt open and Plagg flew in. Adrien rushed out of the bathroom and pushed his way against traffic down the stairs to the courtyard. The PEPA table was set up on the far side, by the stairs to the cafeteria. 

Marinette and Aurore were seated next to each other. A younger student stood in front of the table, listening to Marinette explain about PEPA’s message. She caught Adrien’s eye and smiled, and he motioned that he was waiting to talk to her. He snagged a pamphlet off the table while he waited. 

_P.E.P.A.  
Positive Emotions Preventing Akumatizations_

_What is PEPA?  
PEPA is Mayor Bourgeois’ new initiative to spread positive thinking and improve morale in Paris. PEPA programs have been instituted in all schools and government offices this year. Programming includes meditation classes, psychoeducation about controlling your emotions and restructuring maladaptive thoughts, morale boosters, and fundraising events. For more information about how to get involved in your organizations PEPA branch, contact your PEPA rep. _

_Your organization’s PEPA rep is: Caline Bustier_

“Adrien?”

He looked up from the pamphlet to see Marinette looking at him with a questioning smile, done talking to the other student. Aurore was on her phone, trying to pretend she wasn’t paying attention.

“Hey, Marinette.”

“Did you want to learn more about PEPA?” she asked. Adrien liked PEPA. He wasn’t sure how effective it actually was in preventing akumitizations, but anything aimed at helping him and Ladybug defeat Hawkmoth was a plus. He would have been happy to get more involved with the school’s organization, but didn’t have the time. Nino wasn’t that interested, and Alya claimed to dislike the programming because it would mean less of a chance that Ladybug and Chat Noir were needed in close proximity. Marinette, however, had thrown herself into it, helping Mlle. Bustier organize events, plan fundraisers, and make posters. 

“Actually, I had a question for you about the party,” he started, feeling inexplicably nervous. Marinette cut him off before he could continue.

“Oh! The party! It’s one of PEPA’s morale boosters to help fight against the winter doldrums. It’s a proven scientific fact that people’s happiness goes down in the winter months. Seasonal Affective Disorder is more severe, and here’s a pamphlet about how an already depressed mood can increase akumatization odds.” She handed him a pamphlet with a picture of a woman on the front emblazoned with ‘SAD’. “The party is next Friday, and tickets go on sale this afternoon. All proceeds go to the Akuma Relief Fund,” she said, rifling around on the table. “We have a pamphlet about ARF somewhere…”

Adrien laughed. “That’s okay; I’m sure they’re worthy. Um… I kind of heard that this was something people go to with a date?” He hated the way his voice got squeaky. 

Marinette chuckled, her cheeks turning pink and her smile falling. “Oh, yeah, that. I think Lila started that one. She was saying something about visiting London and America and school dances… I don’t really know. Who knows if it is even true. But I think that’s what everyone is planning on doing now.” She shrugged. “Hard to stop something once it started.”

“Right. Cool, cool, cool,” he answered, half to Marinette, and half as a reminder to himself. “So were you, um, planning on going with a date?” 

Marinette choked, and started coughing. Aurore reached over and thumped her on the back, giving Adrien an inscrutable expression before turning back to her phone. “Me?” Marinette finally managed. Her face was completely red. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess I hadn’t thought about it. Well, maybe thought about it a little but I guess it all depends on if anyone asks me. Not that I need to be asked but… Is it hot in here?” She picked up a pamphlet and started fanning herself. “I mean most of our friends are dating. People, not each other. Well, some are dating each other. Like Alya and Nino and Ivan and Mylène. So they kind of have built in dates, ya know? And we will all probably just end up hanging out together so I don’t think it really matters if we have dates. Not that I wouldn’t want… that is I wouldn’t be against it if someone wanted to go with me but it’s probably just about matching clothes and corsages and stuff and embarrassing pictures taken by parents and…”

Seeing Marinette in a typical panic made him feel calmer. Adrien put both palms flat on the table between them and leaned forward. “Marinette, do you want to go with me?”

Marinette cut herself off mid sentence. She stared at him, eyes wide and unblinking, mouth slightly open in the shape of the last word she said. The moment of silence stretched between the three of them. Him waiting, Marinette frozen, and Aurore trying to pretend she wasn’t eavesdropping. The first bell rang.

“Right,” he said, realizing Marinette wasn’t going to respond. He felt his heart drop. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything. I just thought… well it’s like you said that we would all be together as friends and you and I are friends and I thought we would have a good time together but that’s okay. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable and this doesn’t change anything.“ 

Aurore was no longer hiding her laughter. 

“I’ll see you in class,” he said, his voice quiet. He turned away and started toward the staircase.

“Adrien, wait!”

He turned back; Marinette had jumped from her seat and looked almost ready to climb over the table, one hand outstretched toward him. Her eyes were still wide.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to… that is… I’d love to go with you.”

“Really?”

Her startled face softened into a genuine smile. “Really, really. Sorry for not answering you. I panicked, and…” She grabbed her backpack and came around the table to join him. Aurore winked at him.

Marinette fell into step with him as they started walking to class. “I wasn’t expecting you to ask, so when you did I kind of shut down. And it takes me a little while to reboot.”

Adrien laughed. “That’s alright. As long as you really want to?” 

She nodded emphatically, her pigtails slapping against her shoulders. “I really want to.”

“Good.”

They reached class and took their respective seats, but Adrien pulled a few euros out of his wallet and turned around. “Here,” he said, sliding the bills to Marinette. “I have fencing practice at lunch so can you buy two tickets for me?”

Marinette lay her hands on the money, her fingers brushing against his. “You don’t have to pay for me.”

“Please,” he said, smiling. “I want to.”

“Oh.” She smiled back at him. Nino and Alya were clearly watching them. “Okay. Whatever you want, I’ll do. I mean I’ll do whatever you ask.” She groaned. “I’ll take it.”

Adrien held her gaze for a moment longer before turning back to face the front. Nino nudged him. 

“Dude,” he said, holding out his fist and waggling his eyebrows. Adrien rolled his eyes but bumped his fist against Nino’s. 

Some furious whispers, a slap, and a high pitched whine came from behind him, but when he glanced back, a red faced Marinette just smiled and waved.

~~~

A high pitched whine filled the ears of the patrons of Tom and Sabine’s Boulangerie Patisserie after school.

Sabine looked up from the counter to see her daughter framed in the doorway, a not completely uncommon expression of shock on her face and a small piece of paper clutched in her hand. 

“Salut, dear. How was your day at school?”

Marinette did not respond, but continued whining. A customer Sabine had never seen before was looking between them with an increasingly concerned expression. This most likely wasn’t something important enough to lose a customer over.

“Marinette?”

Marinette waved the pieces of paper around. “A…Adrien.”

Sabine nodded, understanding completely. “Marinette, darling, why don’t you come back here while I help this customer?”

Marinette did not seem capable of moving on her own, so Sabine walked over to her and steered her toward the back. She caught a glimpse of the words on the paper in Marinette’s hand. PEPA Winter

She nudged Marinette toward the back door and poked her head into the kitchen. “Tom, can you help a customer? Marinette’s having an Adrien moment.” Tom closed the oven door and wiped his hands on his apron, smiling at her in affirmation. 

She marched Marinette up the stairs with minimal resistance, and led her into the front door of their home. The sight of the living room seemed to bring Marinette back to consciousness. 

“MAMAN!” she screamed, almost deafening Sabine. “Maman, Maman, Maman!”

Sabine helped Marinette remove her backpack and set it on a kitchen stool. “Marinette, Marinette, Marinette! What happened?”

“Look!” She thrust the paper into Sabine’s hand, who could now officially confirm that it was a ticket to the school’s PEPA party next week. 

“You got your ticket for the party?” Sabine asked, trying to figure out what exactly was the cause of her daughter’s excitement. 

“Adrien.” Marinette took a deep breath, apparently trying to regain the ability to speak more than one word at a time. “Adrien bought the ticket.”

“Adrien’s ticket?” Sabine asked. Marinette nodded. “Oh, Marinette. Didn’t we talk about taking Adrien’s things?”

Marinette shook her head rapidly. “No! I didn’t steal it. He asked me…. HE ASKED ME!”

“He asked you to take his ticket?”

“No! He asked me to buy two tickets. For him. And me. Maman, he asked me!”

“Asked you?”

Marinette seemed to be reaching her breaking point. “To go with him! As his date! He asked me out! Adrien Agreste asked me out!”

“Oh, darling,” Sabine said, hugging her daughter. “I’m so happy for you.”

They stood together for a quiet moment, Marinette finally calm, before she let out another ear shattering scream.

“I have nothing to wear!” she lamented, pulling at her pigtails. Before Sabine could respond, Marinette pulled away and dashed up to her room, probably about to tear apart her entire wardrobe. 

Sabine shook her head fondly for a moment before leaving and returning to the bakery. Tom stood behind the register, ringing up the customer from earlier. 

“I heard a lot of shouting?” he asked. 

“Adrien asked her to be his date to the party.” Tom’s face lit up. “No, Tom, you are not going to scare him like you did to Chat Noir.”

Tom frowned. “But, chérie, it’s Adrien!”

Sabine laughed, patting Tom on the arm and handing the receipt to the customer. “I know.”

~~~

“Nathalie!”

Adrien sang her name from the front door, but his voice echoed around the house. The expression on Gabriel’s face was nothing short of appalled. Nathalie left the atelier to see what Adrien wanted. 

Adrien stood at the front door, surrounded by his school bag and his fencing gear, wearing the expression he used when he wanted something.

Nathalie sighed. She was not paid enough for this. 

“Nathalie,” he repeated upon seeing her, thankfully no longer singing. “Keeper of schedules and sanity in the Agreste household. How was your day?”

She took off her glasses and wiped them on her blazer before responding. “What do you want, Adrien?”

He faked an offended look. Really, for a model, he was very bad at acting. “You wound me, Nathalie. Don’t you know you are my favorite of Père’s employees? Don’t tell Le Gorille that. But really, you’re more like family than employee anyway. You’ve become like a second mother to me.”

“That is definitely not going to work,” she cut him off. 

Adrien laughed. “What am I saying? You are much to young to be my mother.”

She bit down on her tongue to prevent the laughter from escaping. “Adrien...” she warned. 

He dropped all pretenses immediately. “Okay, there’s the PEPA party next week.” 

Nathalie felt something inside of her die at the mention of that word. She feigned ignorance. “Pepa? Is that one of your friends?”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “No, it’s the mayor’s thing to prevent akumatizations. My school has a program.” He suddenly looked thoughtful. “Maybe Père can start one at Gabriel? There seem to be a lot of his employees who become akumas.”

Wanting to steer Adrien away from that concerning line of thought, Nathalie said, “So there’s a party?”

Adrien nodded. “Yeah. Next Friday night. I checked, my schedule is completely free! So I could go to the party. Actually it’s less of a party and more of an event. A school sponsored event. And it’s for charity! All proceeds benefit the Akuma Relief Fund. Here,” he pulled a pamphlet out of his satchel and handed it to her. It said ‘**SAD: Everything you should know about Seasonal Affective Disorder**.’

“Oops, wrong one,” Adrien laughed. “Actually I don’t think I ever got one for ARF. But that’s okay, they are real. And Père loves charities.”

“This is very well prepared, Adrien, but I don’t think he will want-”

“Oh wait, there’s more!” Adrien was really getting into it. “Apparently this is the kind of party – no event – you take a date to.”

Nathalie frowned. “So you want us to find you a date?”

Adrien waved her away. “No, no, I already have a date. I asked her and she said yes and that’s a promise I made. And you know what Père says: ‘A promise made is a promise kept.’ How would I look if I went back on my promise to Marinette?” Adrien grinned. “You know Marinette. Père knows Marinette. Better than that, Père likes Marinette. He thinks she’s talented. There’s no way one of the houses won’t snatch her up soon for an apprenticeship. And then when they find out she knows us and they ask her what we are like, you know, personally, and she says, ‘oh the Agreste men don’t keep their promises.’ How will that look for the brand?” He stopped to take a deep breath and give her a winning smile. “I’m just trying to save the future of the brand, Nathalie.”

Nathalie rubbed her temples. “I’m very impressed, Adrien.” He beamed. “I’ll talk to him, but I make no promises.”

“Thanks, Nathalie, you’re the best!”

Adrien grabbed his bags and ran up the stairs toward his room. 

Nathalie gave herself a moment to compose her thoughts before returning to Gabriel’s side. 

“What was Adrien talking about?”

He hadn’t even looked up from his screen. Nathalie embraced the calm before the storm. 

“He wants to attend a school event next week. His schedule is already free at that time.”

“Hmm, a school event...” Gabriel was scrutinizing fabric swatches. “Is it mandatory for his coursework?” 

Nathalie bit her lip before saying it. “No, it’s a PEPA event.”

Gabriel’s head snapped up. “PEPA?” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “My son wants to attend one of those wretched PEPA events?”

“With all due respect, sir, he doesn’t-”

“Positive emotions! I’ve never heard of such nonsense before in my life.” He pushed himself away from the screen and started pacing. “No self respecting teenager should be able to regulate their emotions. Just last week I had a girl calm down when she realized she was catastrophizing! She shouldn’t even know what that is.”

Nathalie watched him pace. The portrait of Emilie watched them both. 

“This was André’s worst idea. I tell you he won’t be getting my vote again.”

“Sir, about Adrien-”

“No. Absolutely not. Why does he want to go anyway?”

Nathalie stopped herself from telling him it was a party. “It’s a charity fundraiser. He thinks it will be good for the brand.”

Gabriel snorted. “PEPA, good for my brand?”

“With all due respect, sir,” she repeated, “Adrien doesn’t know you dislike PEPA.”

Gabriel wrinkled his nose. “Of course he doesn’t. But I still don’t want him involved.”

Nathalie sighed and brought out Adrien’s last hope. “He says he already asked Mlle. Dupain-Cheng to accompany him. He doesn’t wish to disappoint her – or you – by going back on that promise to her.”

Gabriel sighed. “He’s trying hard. Well… Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is an acceptable choice.” He was silent for a while, and Nathalie knew better not to push. Finally he spoke. “He can go.” Nathalie smiled in her victory, but it was short lived. “And you will accompany him.”

“Sir?”

“Think of it as a reconnaissance mission, Nathalie. You will be able to study what PEPA does so that we can figure out how to work around it.”

Nathalie did not think that was necessary. “Sir, do you really think that is necessary?”

“Absolutely.”

Nathalie tried a different approach. “I don’t think they allow anyone to come to these events. You probably have to be affiliated with the school.”

“Ah,” Gabriel said, returning to his screen and minimizing the pattern swatches. He opened his email and gestured for Nathalie to join him. “Read this.”

He opened a message. 

TO: parent-listserv@collègefrançoisdupont.fr  
FROM: PEPA-parent-listserv@collègefrançoisdupont.fr  
RE: Upcoming PEPA Events!  
Salut François Dupont Parents!

We have an exciting list of upcoming PEPA events at the collège and we are looking for parent volunteers. Whether that means helping with preparations, donating materials, or attending the events, we are always happy to have you involved!

Here are the upcoming events for the next few weeks:

8/1: Wellness Retreat @ Sensation Spa  
15/1: Workshop on Cognitive Distortions (presenter Dr. Cyrille Dossin, PhD)  
25/1: PEPA Winter Morale Booster 

RSVP to cbustier@collègefrançoisdupont.fr if you can help out!

Gabriel looked at her. She looked back at him.

Nathalie said the first thing that came to her mind. “I’m not Adrien’s parent.”

Gabriel had the audacity to roll his eyes. “You will be going as my stand in. I will RSVP for you as attending this ‘morale booster’.” He started composing a new email. Clearly, he didn’t trust that she would do it herself if he delegated the task to her. He was right.

“And how do I explain to Adrien the sudden ‘stand in parental involvement’?” 

Gabriel shot her a dark look. “You will tell him that I asked you to chaperone.”

“Chaperone?” she asked. He didn’t respond. “I apologize if I am being obstinate, sir, but chaperones are not commonplace anymore. I need more instructions.” Nathalie held back her smirk at how annoyed Gabriel was becoming. 

“Adrien is a teenager, and vastly inexperienced in how to comport himself in a romantic setting. Therefore, if he insists on going to this PEPA event then he needs supervision. He won’t question you too much.”

Nathalie suppressed the urge to rub her temples to soothe her throbbing headache. So she was going on a date with a pair of teenagers. What’s the worst that could happen?


	2. Chapter 2

Nathalie Sancoeur was _definitely_ not paid enough for this. 

The evening had started out well enough, with Adrien appearing in the foyer of the Agreste mansion, looking appropriately nervous and adorable in a pale blue button up and dark wash jeans. This fit nicely into Nathalie’s image of how the date should go, so she was thrown for a loop as they sat together in the back of the town car en route to Marinette’s house. 

“I’m not sure why Père made you come with me,” he said casually, not even looking at her as he scrolled through Instagram. 

Nathalie sighed. “I can’t explain all of his actions, Adrien. But I believe he wanted me to chaperone this date to ensure that-”

Adrien’s laughter cut her off. “It’s not a date,” he said once he calmed down. “Marinette is my friend and we are going together as friends. That’s all this is.”

Nathalie raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. Adrien actually locked his phone and turned to face her. 

“It’s no different than any other time I’ve hung out with my friends.” 

This time she turned her gaze to his clothes, which were decidedly more formal than his usual. Adrien had the decency to blush. “It’s a party,” he grumbled. “But you go out with friends all the time,” he said, regaining his momentum. “What about last Friday when you left early for ‘dinner with a friend’? You were dressed nicely for that.”

Nathalie smothered her smile, wondering how Adrien (and his father) would react if they knew exactly how her dinner with her ‘friend’ Raoul had ended last week. Although, if Adrien was this confused about his own social life, perhaps it was time to be more honest with him. “Actually, Adrien, I had a date.”

Adrien’s jaw dropped and his eyes grew comically large. “You date?” 

She chose to ignore his incredulous tone of voice and the small snort of laughter she heard from Gérard’s seat. 

“Yes, I do. But that is a conversation for another day.” Adrien looked like he was having an existential crisis. “Adrien, usually when a boy asks a girl out, she understands that he has romantic intentions. Marinette -”

“Is my friend.” Adrien cut her off again. “And even though you, and apparently Père, have the wrong idea about it, we both know this is just a friendly thing.” Adrien picked up his phone again, clearly signaling the end of the conversation. His fingers flew across the screen, no doubt informing his friends of the altogether shocking news that his father’s assistant has a life outside of planning his schedule. 

Nathalie picked up her own phone and scrolled through her unread messages. Raoul wanted to know what night she would be free to go out again (take that, Adrien!) and her group chat was flooding her with questions on how the night was going. She sent a quick text with an update of what Adrien had said. Her friends had absolutely loved that she had been tasked with chaperoning Adrien’s date, but even more so that it would be with Marinette. They had become hardcore supporters of the relationship ever since Nathalie informed them of the girl’s obvious infatuation with Adrien. While none of them had ever met the Agrestes, they followed Nathalie’s updates like the newest episodes of a hit soap opera. 

The responses arrived rapid fire. 

Is he SERIOUSLY pulling the just a friend card again???  
_Caroline_

Please, nat, let me talk to him and knock some sense into him  
_Giselle_

I SWEAR  
THIS BOY  
LIKE I KNOW WE LOVE HIM  
BUT HOW DUMB  
_Darcey_

oh poor marinette I was so happy for her she will be crushed  
_Rachelle_

I thought his generation was supposed to be better than this  
Nat DO SOMETHING  
_Paulette_

not shocked  
he gets his observational skills from daddy  
_Zara_

Nathalie had to physically cover her mouth to stop the laughter from coming out. Adrien would probably not enjoy knowing that he was the butt of the joke for a group of thirty-something women. 

They arrived at Marinette’s house in silence, and Nathalie allowed Adrien to go in alone and greet her. She switched seats to be up front with Gérard instead of sandwiched between the two teenagers in the back. Or worse, making them sit next to each other. “Not a word,” she said warningly to Gérard, though it was highly unlikely that he would say anything. He just laughed and mimed zipping his lips. 

Marinette and Adrien emerged from the bakery, and Nathalie’s heart sank. The girl was clearly under the impression that this was to be a romantic evening. She looked lovely in a pale blue dress and pumps, her hair loose around her shoulders. Adrien had a slightly punch-drunk expression on his face, but he no doubt was unaware of his own attraction to the girl. 

Adrien held the door open for Marinette, who sat down in the seat directly behind Nathalie. She smiled at Gérard, but frowned at Nathalie. “Salut, monsieur, Nathalie. I wasn’t expecting you.”

Nathalie wanted to apologize. To tell her that she remembered what it was like to be a teenager. That eventually it would get easier, but only slightly. That boys were stupid and insensitive, even the good ones like Adrien. Instead, she settled on, “M. Agreste requested it.” 

“Oh, of course!” Marinette’s blush threatened to overtake her. “I didn’t mean to imply... M. Agreste is allowed... of course he’s allowed... that is...”

She trailed off as Adrien got in the car from the other side and they pulled away from the curb in silence. 

The event was being held at Le Grand Paris, but the volume of cars clogging the streets forced them to sit through traffic in excruciating silence. Nathalie glanced at her mirror to see the teenagers in the back. They both looked uncomfortable, neither one knowing what to say. 

“Do you know what -”

“Did you know that -”

Both Adrien and Marinette started speaking at the same time. The both blushed and gestured for the other to speak. Nathalie wanted to cry.

Marinette finally spoke. “Did you know that Kitty Section is performing?”

Adrien perked up. “No, I didn’t know that! It’s been a long time since I was able to come join a rehearsal.”

He nodded his head to the front seat as if that made any sense, but Marinette seemed to understand it, and she giggled in response. 

“Yeah, they’ve gotten really good. Luka wrote a new song for them to do today and it sounded amazing last I heard it.”

Adrien pouted, but Marinette kept talking. “He was telling me about how difficult it was to get the bridge right. I don’t know much about music, but apparently Luka was trying to figure out which key change would sound the best. He kept doing them both for me but I didn’t hear a difference. I’m sure you would have known,” she said to Adrien, and he shrugged, his frown even more pronounced.

How neither of them seemed to notice how angry Adrien became when Marinette talked about Luka was beyond her. Luka, who Adrien used to like until he started spending _a little too much_ time with Marinette and suddenly became “strange,” “aloof,” and “emotionally unstable enough to become akumatized.” Well, Adrien, not everyone had a father who thought the mark of good parenting was not turning your son into a super villain. But that too was a conversation for another day. 

Marinette chattered on about the costumes she designed for the band as Adrien fell into more of a funk. Honestly, Marinette was doing the best she had ever seen. Rachelle would be so proud. 

Thankfully, the lights of Le Grand Paris came into view, and the conversation around the band died out. The three of them disembarked, and Nathalie watched with regret as Gérard drove away to park, having not been ordered to go inside the event. 

Nathalie took a deep breath and let the two teenagers walk in ahead of her. She was _irrefutably_ not paid enough for this.

~~~

If she were being honest, Marinette didn’t know what to expect from this evening.

When Adrien asked her to be his date to the PEPA party, she was originally in shock. Although they had grown to be closer friends in the past few months, she was definitely not expecting him to ask her out on a date any time soon.

When Alya told her about how she and Nino had talked to Adrien about asking a friend to go with him before he was pounced on by crowds of interested girls, she was disappointed. While it would have been nicer if he thought to ask her on his own, it was still nice to know that she was his first choice of someone to go with.

When Adrien picked her up outside the bakery, she was excited, nervous, and a little queasy. Adrien looked devastatingly handsome in his pale blue shirt, _they were matching!_, a light dusting of pink blush across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. 

When she saw that Nathalie was accompanying them, she was frustrated. How was she supposed to be comfortable talking to Adrien when they were accompanied by an _adult_ all evening, someone who would be listening to their conversation. Nevertheless, as they approached Le Grand Paris, she discovered that her sentences were full and coherent, and finally started to feel confident in how the evening would turn out.

When the akuma appeared in the middle of the party, screaming about having to chaperone a group full of hormone-driven adolescents, Marinette was not surprised.

Her heart pounded as she looked around at the crowd of suddenly panicked people, searching for a quiet place to transform and a way to escape from Adrien and Nathalie. A quick glance at their chaperone showed her glaring at the akuma, almost in disgust. Adrien was the first to talk. 

“I think we need to hide now!” He grabbed Marinette’s hand and started pulling her along with the crowd. Nathalie tried to keep up with them, but her path was blocked by a group of noisy lycéennes. Adrien pulled Marinette down underneath the reception desk. While she would normally be freaking out about his close proximity in a very private and enclosed space, she wished he would just leave her alone. Fortunately, he seemed to be in tune with her.

“Stay here, Marinette. I’m going to look for Nathalie, and make sure she is okay.” With that, he ran away from her, back into the crowd. 

Tikki popped out of her purse. “It’s too bad your date had to be interrupted, Marinette!” 

“No time to get upset. Tikki, spots on!”

Ladybug jumped out from behind the reception desk and into the melee. 

The Chaperone stood at least twice as tall as a regular person, his bright orange suit stupid and garish. In his left hand he clutched a roll of raffle tickets. When he ripped off a ticket, he tossed it at a partygoer, who instantly dropped to the floor in a deep sleep. 

It was not the most intimidating of powers, but Ladybug knew being hit by this one would make her miraculous an easy target. As she hopped over a group of slumbering teens, Ladybug tried to get a good idea of where the akuma was hiding. 

“Well now, this party looks like a real snooze-fest.”

Chat Noir smashed the akuma over the head with his baton once before vaulting over to land next to Ladybug. 

“I didn’t even think chaperones were still a thing,” Chat said.

The akuma turned to him in anger. “Neither did I! And yet I’m stuck here babysitting a group of teenagers.”

“With all due respect,” Chat said, leaning against his baton. “I don’t think the teenagers are too pleased with your presence either.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes as they engaged in a discussion, but used the distraction to call for her lucky charm. A red spotted pulley dropped into her hands. 

She looked around for a way to use her new tool, but nothing was sticking out. 

“Chat Noir, cover me,” she called, securing the pulley around her waist and jumping up to the second floor balcony as Chat rushed the akuma, twirling his baton to deflect the barrage of raffle tickets being sent toward him. 

As she watched them fight from above, Ladybug spotted something that could help. She attached the pulley to the railing before leaping down to the first level again. Approaching the snack table, Ladybug grabbed hold of the punch bowl, careful not to spill any of the contents. 

“Chat, your tail!” Chat performed a rather impressive triple backflip away from the akuma, landing beside her and detaching his belt tail. He handed it to her with a wink before jumping in front of her, swatting a flying raffle ticket aside with his baton. 

Ladybug worked quickly tying the belt around the punch bowl, creating a handle above it. She cast her yo-yo up to the pulley, aiming it to fly through the wheel and wrap around securely. She then tied the end to Chat’s belt handle, and with one pull, hefted the bowl into the air. 

Chat had been watching her work, and understood her plan. He began backing up, leading the unsuspecting akuma to stand underneath her contraption.

“Hey, Chaperone,” Ladybug called, pulling her string tight and nodding to Chat, “Did you know that kids like to pull pranks?”

At her last word, Chat crouched and with one feline jump, tapped the bowl above their heads so it overturned, dousing the akuma in tropical punch. He roared in anger, going to rip another raffle ticket, but the roll was soggy and unable to be torn. With a call for his cataclysm, Chat stepped up to the akuma and tapped his name tag, disintegrating it and releasing the butterfly. 

Ladybug made quick work of purifying the akuma, and tossed her pulley into the air. After the air cleared of purifying ladybugs, Ladybug frowned down at the punch bowl, which was unfortunately left empty. 

Chat Noir was waiting for her in the middle of the floor, partygoers groggily rising from their slumbering positions. “Great job, m’lady, but I have a party of my own to get to.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes but smiled, meeting his extended fist with her own.

“Pound it!”

~~~

Tom stood behind Sabine, and together they peeked out of the crack in the curtain of the living room window, peering down at the street below.

“I can’t see anything,” he moaned for the fourth time. The limo was parked at the curb, but his daughter had yet to emerge from within. 

“That’s because there’s nothing to see,” Sabine reasoned, and Tom started to respond before she cut him off again. “Wait! Look!”

The back door of the car opened, and a figure emerged, one with blond hair. “That’s Adrien,” Tom helpfully narrated. Sabine waved him aside. Adrien walked around the car and opened the other door, and another figure emerged, this one in a pale blue dress that shone in the streetlight. “And there’s Marinette,” he couldn’t help but add, his voice hushed like a television announcer.

“Very good, Tom,” Sabine laughed. “Do you think Macron will come out next?”

Tom didn’t respond, but squeezed her hips and dropped a kiss to the top of her head when she giggled.

Marinette and Adrien walked closer to the door, and Sabine and Tom leaned forward, practically pressed against the glass to still see them. 

“I wish we could hear what they are saying,” Tom lamented. 

Sabine shook her head as best as she could with her nose against the window. “If we went downstairs they might see us.”

Tom hummed. “D’you think he’ll kiss her goodnight?”

Sabine laughed. “Don’t you remember what it was like to be their age?”

“I don’t want to wait years for them to come to their senses,” Tom whined. “Oh, there he goes!” Adrien was walking back to the car. They watched as he got inside, and a moment later, the car pulled away. 

“No screaming, so I assume no kiss,” Sabine said. Tom frowned, but a moment later, the sound of the downstairs door closing echoed through the apartment. “Quick, act natural,” Sabine instructed, and they both broke away from the window. She sat on the couch, flicking on the television and pumping the volume to an audible level. Tom rushed to the kitchen, sticking his hands in the dough he was preparing to sit overnight.

The front door of the apartment opened as he was kneading it, and Marinette slipped in. He turned toward her, plastering a look of surprise on his face. “Oh, hello, darling! We didn’t hear you come in!”

Sabine flicked the television back off and rose to come join them. Marinette barely returned his greeting, humming and leaning back against the door with a dreamy smile on her face. _Maybe he did kiss her_, he mouthed at Sabine. 

“Marinette, how was the party?” Sabine asked, pulling Marinette by one arm and sitting her down on one of the kitchen stools. 

“He… he…”

Tom was used to his daughter’s actions, and kept quiet as she assembled her words, keeping his hands moving through the dough. 

“He kissed me.”

“I knew it!” Tom cheered, pumping his fist in the air before realizing that he was still holding some dough. He sheepishly returned it to the pile when both ladies turned to him. 

“On the cheek,” Marinette clarified. “And said he had fun and that we should hang out again some time.”

“Marinette, this is great progress,” Sabine encouraged.

Marinette began talking about all of the events of the night, and Tom listened with one ear as he took out a bowl and settled the dough inside so that it could rise. He wondered how easy it would be to make kouign amann in the shape of hearts, and if Adrien would like them. He would have to start working on that in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize canon Nathalie is nothing like how I wrote her, but I think this version of her is more fun. Let me know what you think!


End file.
